> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.otter-shell.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# otter-greeter

> Wayland display manager with PAM login, fingerprint auth, and AccountsService user list.

`otter-greeter` runs before your user compositor session starts.

## Components

| Binary             | Role                                                                 |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `otter-greeterd`   | Root daemon: PAM, logind seats, AccountsService, IPC, session launch |
| `otter-greeter-ui` | Unprivileged Wayland login UI                                        |

The greeter UI runs on **Hyprland** for the login screen only. Your session compositor is separate.

## Installation

After `pikman install otter-shell`, enable the systemd service:

```bash theme={null}
sudo systemctl enable otter-greeter.service
```

System files installed:

* `/etc/otter-shell/otter-greeter.conf`
* `/etc/otter-shell/otter-greeter-hyprland.conf`
* `/etc/pam.d/otter-greeter`
* `/etc/pam.d/otter-greeter-autologin`
* `/usr/lib/systemd/system/otter-greeter.service`

A dedicated system user `otter-greeter` is created during package installation.

## Configuration

Main config: `/etc/otter-shell/otter-greeter.conf`

| Setting            | Default                                                                            |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Greeter compositor | `/usr/bin/start-hyprland -- --config /etc/otter-shell/otter-greeter-hyprland.conf` |
| Display VT         | `7`                                                                                |
| State path         | `/var/lib/otter-greeter/state.conf`                                                |
| Runtime sockets    | `/run/otter-greeter/<seat>.sock`                                                   |

Wayland sessions are discovered from configured `.desktop` directories. X11 sessions are ignored.

## Authentication

* PAM handles password authentication
* Fingerprint auth is PAM-controlled (via fprintd when configured)
* Autologin runs once per daemon process per seat; failure falls back to interactive login
* Expired-password flows use PAM conversation prompts on the auth surface
* User listing prefers AccountsService; falls back to `/etc/passwd` for normal login users

## Dependencies

`otter-greeter` depends on `otter-wallpaper` (same version), Hyprland (greeter compositor only), `accountsservice`, and `adduser`.